Departure Day
by Aethelthryth
Summary: How Sakura & Syaoran spent their day before Syaoran leaves for HongKong again. Oneshot, SS.
1. Chapter 1: Sakura

**A/N**: There are 2 chapters in this story, but both are basically the same. Only difference is that the first chapter tells mostly Sakura's feelings, and the second chapter is more of Syaoran's POV. I'd be happy if you read both, but probably reading only one would be best, or you might get bored.

**Disclaimer:** CCS is not mine. It belongs to CLAMP.

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"Is that everything?" Sakura asked while handing Syaoran some T-shirts she had neatly folded. She peered over his shoulder to see him stuffing his newly laundered clothes into his suitcase, wrinkling them in the process. She sighed and lightly pushed him aside to take over the task, but Syaoran took her hand away from his bag, shaking his head.

"No. Let's go grab some lunch. Where do you want to eat?"

Sakura knew that he just didn't want their precious time to be wasted for things like packing. He values the time they have together so much. Whenever they are together, either when he visits Japan or when she visits Hong Kong, he insists that neither of them worry about anything related to work from each other's home, and just enjoy the short time they could spend together. He could get really grumpy when Sakura gets worried about some work left undone or some co-workers calling her and she picks it up. And a grumpy Syaoran is real scary.

They'd been in this long-distance relationship that they hate and love at the same time for years. They hate being apart from each other, but they managed to extract some positive aspects from that too. They were able to discover some things about their love for each other that they wouldn't have figured out if they were together all the time. The saying "distance makes the heart grows fonder" applies to them perfectly well. They are grateful for that, but of course they'd still prefer to always be together if they could help it.

Sakura looked up at him and tried to at least not look sad. She used to try to look happy, but she had given up doing that for quite some time now. Syaoran could always tell whatever she was feeling, and he had joked that trying to conceal it only makes her look like a duck. She had broken into a laugh after a two-second pause and stomped on his foot like she always does to her brother.

She asked him where he would like to eat, since it's his last day in Tokyo, and she could go to any of the restaurants here anytime she wanted. He then insisted that she should be the one deciding on the restaurant. This happens all the time when they were going to eat out. But this time, Sakura didn't have the energy to argue.

"Let's go to that small restaurant near Tomoeda Elementary that you loved. I have a sudden crave for their food. We could just walk there." She said.

"Sure. I'll go grab the umbrella. You go get your coat. It's pretty cold out there."

They had gone there last Saturday too, when he had just arrived from Hong Kong, and it had been raining as well. But she didn't mind the rain or the cold back then, because she was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. In fact, she thanked God it was cold and raining so she could have a reason to snuggle up to him in public. They had walked there after dropping Syaoran's suitcase at home, and she had happily hugged him all the way, chattering about all sorts of things.

This Saturday, she picked up her thickest coat because she felt cold even though she was still inside her room. The thought of Syaoran leaving always makes her cold, although she had dealt with it numerous times. She thought she'd be numbed with that feeling by now, but on the contrary, every time he had to leave, she just felt colder and lonelier than ever before. She'd say she was hit by karma, because she used to mock those dramas that overdid the sad scenes where the lovers have to part. Syaoran would say he was too adorable that she just couldn't get away from him. And she'd laughed at that despite being sad.

This Saturday, she was quiet. She snuggled up to him truly to feel as much of his warmth as possible, not just as an excuse. Syaoran was more talkative today. She knew he was just trying to lighten things up, hence the occasional attempt at jokes. He was not good at that, but she liked the fact that he tried for her sake and she could never help but laugh, sometimes not at his jokes, but at his futile attempt.

They reached the restaurant and ordered the usual. They shared their food, switching plates a few times and picking food from each other's plates. To the waiters who saw them, they looked like a perfectly happy couple who came last Saturday. Inside, Sakura felt the pain getting stronger – how similar were last Saturday and this Saturday, and yet how different it felt.

"Here." Syaoran held a spoon of fried rice in front of her mouth and silently mouthed an "aaa…"

Sakura was surprised. Syaoran does not usually show public affection. He was really awkward in those things. But here he was feeding her in a packed restaurant where everybody could see them. She felt a warm, tingly feeling spread inside of her and her mood lifted up a bit. He had been trying to cheer her up, so the least she could do is receive that and not dwell in her sadness to much. She smiled and happily engulfed the food in her mouth.

She was in a pretty good mood after that and all the way back home again, where they spent the few hours just having fun doing goofy things with each other. But as the hours passed by and the time for Syaoran's departure is nearing, Sakura felt the coldness crept up again. She stood up to turn up the heater, and when she came back, Syaoran was taking off his jacket. Sakura stopped him.

"Don't take it off, please."

"It's pretty warm in here though..."

"Wear it for me. Leave this one here this time, ne?"

Syaoran looked at her and she could see understanding in his eyes. He had been leaving some of his clothes in her place and she liked to wear them to sleep. Sometimes she wears several layers just so she could pretend it was him holding her while she sleeps. But she realized that she could never pretend. Syaoran's jackets were not as warm as Syaoran. She could never ask Syaoran's jackets to caress her head to sleep. She could never feel his breath on her head nor feel his heartbeat by wearing his jackets. At the thought of losing all these for the coming months, her defenses broke down and she burst into hysterical cries.

"I'm sorry….so, so sorry….Just 5 minutes...won't cry again…promise…let me cry for a few minutes…please…I'm really sorry…" she kept saying in between her cries. She felt terrible for crying again in front of him. She knew it's the last thing he'd want to see. But she just couldn't help it. She cries quietly when he is away. This time, just for a few minutes, she needed to cry on his shoulder. Just for a few minutes, she wanted him to hug her while she cried. She hugged him tightly and he did the same while stroking her head and back, rocking her back and forth like a baby.

"Shhh…it's okay, it's okay…I'll come again soon…or you can come to Hong Kong…there's a holiday coming soon, right? It's not that long from now…don't cry, okay?"

Sakura found that a little soothing. She did not know what holiday was coming, but she did not care. She could not think at the time. All she heard is that she would see him again soon, so nothing else mattered. She would be okay. She would survive.

Sakura's cries reduced to sobs. Syaoran used his hands to wipe the tears and mucus off Sakura's face.

"It's dirty…" Sakura frowned. "I'll get a hanky…"

She started to get up but he held her down.

"It's okay." He quickly wiped his hand on his jacket.

She frowned again. "Ew…your jacket's dirty…"

"It already was, 'coz you cried on them. Besides, I won't be wearing this for a while… and you'll be sleeping in them…" he teased. And her mood had gotten considerably lighter. Perhaps because she had let out what she had been holding back, perhaps because of the silly joke Syaoran had made, but she felt better.

"Mou…" Sakura pouted. But she won't be washing the jacket for quite a while either, to retain Syaoran's scent. Yes it's dirty, but it has Syaoran's essence smeared on it, so she wouldn't mind. That will keep her alive for a few more months until they meet again.

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**A/N: **Weird ending, I know. And a little disgusting too (not washing used jacket just to retain a scent? Sounds so gross...). But I still hope you enjoyed it. If there's any feedback, please leave a review. Thanks so much for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Syaoran

**A/N**: Here's the 2nd chapter, which is exactly the same story as the first chapter, only told a little bit differently. 1st chapter is Sakura's POV, 2nd chapter is Syaoran's.

**Disclaimer**: CCS is not mine. It belongs to CLAMP.

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"Is that everything?" Sakura asked while handing him some T-shirts she had neatly folded. She peered over his shoulder to see him stuffing his newly laundered clothes into his suitcase, wrinkling them in the process. She sighed and lightly pushed him aside to take over the task, but Syaoran took her hand away from his bag, shaking his head.

"No. Let's go grab some lunch. Where do you want to eat?"

Syaoran did not want Sakura to be wasting time doing things for him. He wanted them to do things together. He could have neatly packed his own bag, but he chose to just stuff them in to make it faster, so they could spend some quality time together. He wanted to do things that would take her mind off the departure, because it would just put more frown on her face. That certainly would not be quality time. That was also why he did not like it when Sakura is worried about work during vacation. It put a frown on her face, and he did not like it.

They'd been in this long-distance relationship that they hate and love at the same time for years. They hate being apart from each other, but they managed to extract some positive aspects from that too. They were able to discover some things about their love for each other that they wouldn't have figured out if they were together all the time. The saying "distance makes the heart grows fonder" applies to them perfectly well. They are grateful for that, but of course they'd still prefer to always be together if they could help it.

Sakura looked up at him and there was the sad face covered with an attempt to look normal again. Yes, he does not like to see Sakura sad, but at the same time, he does not want Sakura to hide any feelings from him. He wants her to always be happy but he also wants her to be honest to herself when she is with him. It was a very complicated feeling. He had tried making jokes, saying that her face looked like a duck. He did not know whether it was a good joke or not, but at least she had laughed at that and gained some of her energy. As a proof, she had stomped his foot and there was strength in the attack.

She asked him where he would like to eat, since it's his last day in Tokyo, and she could go to any of the restaurants here anytime she wanted. He then insisted that she should be the one deciding on the restaurant. This is usually followed by a silly argument about who should decide where to eat. Only on some rare occasion did Sakura made her decision without arguing, usually when she has some sudden cravings for certain food.

"Let's go to that small restaurant near Tomoeda Elementary that you loved. I have a sudden crave for their food. We could just walk there." She decided rather quickly. Syaoran knew this was not one of those rare occasions, but he did not press the matter further.

"Sure. I'll go grab the umbrella. You go get your coat. It's pretty cold out there."

They had gone there last Saturday too, when he had just arrived from Hong Kong, and it had been raining as well. Despite the identical weather between last Saturday and today, Syaoran could easily notice the contrasting mood emitted from Sakura. Or perhaps, it was from himself. He was really happy last Saturday, although he might not have shown it that well in public, but he was feeling really down today. He didn't notice the rain if Sakura had not asked him to hold the umbrella for them last week. Today, he felt that the weather reflected his feelings perfectly. The gloomy, grey and cloudy skies probably just worsen his mood. Perhaps the sky had decided to take up his place to cry.

He must be strong for Sakura. He could feel her hugging him while they walk to the restaurant, just like last Saturday. But today her body was trembling from the cold, unlike last week. He hated to see her like this, so he tried to engage her in conversations and tried to make it as funny as he could. He was glad it made her laugh. Whether she laughed at his jokes or at himself, he did not care. What he cared about is that the laugh was not genuine enough. He wanted to see her smile before he left.

They reached the restaurant and ordered the usual. They shared their food, switching plates a few times and picking food from each other's plates. To the waiters who saw them, they looked like a perfectly happy couple who came last Saturday. But Syaoran knew they were not in the same state.

"Here." Syaoran held a spoon of fried rice in front of her mouth and silently mouthed an "aaa…"

Syaoran does not like to show public affection. He was really awkward in those things. He could do better with showing affections when there was no one else around. But here he was feeding her in a packed restaurant where everybody could see them. He must have been crazy. It must have looked really stupid. He wondered why she stared wide-eyed at him and could not just eat the food he offered immediately. He felt strangers' eyes on them and he could feel his face getting hotter from embarrassment. After what seemed like hours, she finally opened her mouth and engulfed the food. And then her first genuine smile of the day appeared. That was certainly worth the trouble.

He was happy because she was in a pretty good mood after that and all the way back home again, where they spent the few hours just having fun doing goofy things with each other. But as the hours passed by and his departure time is nearing, her smiles were drained off of her face again. She snuggled closer to him and yet still trembled. It was weird because it actually was really hot in the house. When she went to turn up the heater, he decided to take off his jacket.

"Don't take it off, please." He heard her say.

"It's pretty warm in here though..."

"Wear it for me. Leave this one here this time, ne?"

Syaoran looked at her understandingly and put the jacket back on. He had been leaving some of his clothes in her place and she liked to wear them to sleep. He did not approve of that when he found out she did not wash the clothes before wearing them to sleep. God knows whatever germs could get stuck in those clothes he had worn outside.

But he had given up telling her to wash them before wearing them when because she would just ignore him. She told him it made her feel safer.

Suddenly she broke into tears. He was caught by surprise, but then he knew exactly what she was going through. He felt the same way too.

"I'm sorry….so, so sorry….Just 5 minutes...won't cry again…promise…let me cry for a few minutes…please…I'm really sorry…" she said. She always said that, but it always happens whenever they had to part. That complicated feeling came back again. He was glad she was being honest with him. At the same time, it tore his heart to see her like this. He did not know what to do to make it better. He could only hold her and stroked her back. He caressed the hair on her head and rocked her body back and forth, trying to ease her pain. Holding her close like this somewhat eased his pain too.

"Shhh…it's okay, it's okay…I'll come again soon…or you can come to Hong Kong…there's a holiday coming soon, right? It's not that long from now…don't cry, okay?"

In fact, he did not know when the next holiday was. He did not want to lie to her, but the words just spilled out of his mouth. He wanted to make her feel better so badly. He would not survive if she didn't. His only source of strength is her happiness.

Sakura's cries subsided to sobs after a few minutes. Syaoran used his hands to wipe the tears and mucus off Sakura's face.

"It's dirty…" Sakura frowned. "I'll get a hanky…"

She started to get up but he held her down.

"It's okay." He quickly wiped his hand on his jacket.

She frowned again. "Ew…your jacket's dirty…"

"It already was, 'coz you cried on them. Besides, I won't be wearing this for a while… and you'll be sleeping in them…" he teased. He could feel her mood got considerably lighter. This alone made him feel much better.

"Mou…" Sakura pouted. Seeing this playful pout gave him the strength to go on. At least until they could hold each other again.

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**A/N**: How was it? The ending is a little abrupt, but I just can't find a better way to end it. Please leave a review. I'd greatly appreciate feedbacks since I'm a beginner. Thanks for reading! Hopefully it wasn't a waste of time!


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